


Their Favorite...

by RollingWings



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Gestures, Roommates, and they were ROOMMATES, oh my god they were, the inherent romanticisim of proposing to your best friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27333856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RollingWings/pseuds/RollingWings
Summary: It was date night, and Zuko was excited. He and Sokka had been pretty busy lately, and after weeks of overtime shifts they had magically found a three day break in both their schedules to finally spend some time together."Please," Sokka pleaded, choked by tears as he held Zuko close, "Please say it for me, baby, I have to hear you say it."Zuko was expecting a normal date night. He gets something a bit more than that.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 362





	Their Favorite...

**Author's Note:**

> apparently i made my friend cry with this so that must be a good sign right sjdfbjksdbfjsab

It was date night, and Zuko was excited. He and Sokka had been pretty busy lately, and after weeks of overtime shifts they had magically found a three day break in both their schedules to finally spend some time together.

Zuko already knew that Sokka was smart, but it still left him impressed when he shared his ideas to him. They had both been feeling tired and worn out from work, so Sokka had suggested that on their next grocery shopping trip they buy a number of items from a list he found online for a game instead of going out. Zuko was always in favor of staying home, especially to have a date with his boyfriend, so he happily agreed. They had separated in the store to leave all of their gifts as a surprise, and Zuko couldn't help but feel excited about this game.

After an expensive dinner of Zuko's favorite Chinese takeout, ( _ "It's date night Zuko. We're treating ourselves." _ ) They cleared the table and started their game. Zuko smiled as Sokka brought forward his favorite tote bag, filled with what was supposedly Zuko's favorites.

"Their favorite drink." Sokka read off his list, and Zuko placed a bottle of Sprite onto the table as Sokka passed him a box of his favorite jasmine tea.

"I know you prefer McDonald's Sprite, but I don't think I could save a cup of that for a day." Zuko confessed as he happily took his tea.

Sokka beamed.

"Oh, babe, you know me so well!"

Zuko smiled back and he knew that if any of their friends were there they would be fussing and fake gagging at their soppy expressions. It was probably better for the romantic atmosphere that no one was there for Zuko to throw hands with.

Sokka returned to his phone to read their next prompt, "Their favorite snack."

As Zuko pushed a bag of Sokka's favorite peppered jerky onto the table, his boyfriend stood to walk to the fridge to pull out a pack of caramel flan.

"Where were you hiding that!" Zuko shouted- he will admit, a bit overdramatically. But caramel flan was Zuko's absolute  _ favorite _ snack. It was the first thing he ate when he allowed himself off of his usual diet, but only if he was lucky enough to find any. The brand that Sokka held in his hands could only be bought from an obscure asian market on the other side of town, and not only that, they were usually sold out when Zuko ever found the time to buy any. It was sweet that Sokka remembered, but they had gone grocery shopping together yesterday at the usual store close by, which meant Sokka had been hiding them in the fridge for a few days  _ at least _ .

Sokka cackled at Zuko's face as he opened the package and handed Zuko a spoon.

"I had to keep moving it around the fridge, but I placed them behind the unopened stuff because I know you don't touch it until we're out of something."

Zuko squinted at him as he slowly took a spoonful of his flan. His intimidation attempt was thwarted however when he was distracted by his treat.

Sokka laughed again as he went to sit back down, and listed off the next prompt. "Their favorite color."

Zuko placed his snack to the side to pull out a thick pair of light blue socks printed with cactuses. Sokka had been complaining about cold toes since fall had started to set it, and when he saw the set in Sokka's favorite color he knew it would be the perfect gift. The cactus reference was just a bonus.

"Hardy har har, you're hilarious." Sokka snarked, and Zuko laughed at the smile Sokka was trying to fight off.

In return, Zuko received a small stuffed red cat to the face. After a bit of playful bickering, Zuko took a closer look at his gift and saw that it was actually a children's keychain with a large plastic clip. It must have come from the toys section of the store, and Zuko quietly blew out a laugh imagining Sokka awkwardly wandering the aisles alone surrounded by loud, free ranging children. He tucked the cat safely to the side. He would clip it to the rearview mirror of his car later.

"Something that reminds you of them." Was next.

Zuko was a bit embarrassed, but he had found a candle that smelled similar to Sokka's cologne. He  _ loved _ that cologne. It was spicy and woody, and it stuck to Sokka's skin for days and blended with his clothes so that when they hugged or cuddled, Zuko could smell the combination of it with Sokka's skin. It practically made him swoon, and Sokka must have known this, because he wore it any chance he got.

It also reminded Zuko of good things. Memories like- giving into Aang after months of pleading to hangout with his friends for board games and movies and being introduced to Sokka for the first time; and that one date that turned into a breaking and entering when Sokka found out his misogynistic professor wasn’t home for the weekend and they snuck in to shift all of his furniture to the left. The uncomfortable, drunk heart to heart they had after Sokka went to confront Zuko for ignoring everyone's texts and calls for days, and dropping off the face of the planet for weeks. Instead, he found Zuko having a full on meltdown because his father had found out about “his dishonorable and disgusting behavior” and threatened Zuko with his tuition money if he didn’t stop meeting his friends and quit his job with Iroh. There was the tender feeling of Sokka's arms around him as he rocked Zuko through the worst of his breakdown, promising him that they would figure it out together- that he wasn’t going to leave like so many others had. It reminded him of  _ Sokka _ . Which made it the perfect gift for the list item.

Sokka grinned as he took a whiff of the candle, waggling his eyebrows in Zuko's direction as if he knew  _ exactly _ how much the scent bothered Zuko. Zuko scoffed and Sokka laughed, and Zuko felt his heart flutter. This man would be the death of him.

Sokka gave him a new publication of Piandao's philosophy. Zuko smiled and flipped through the cover and first few pages. Sokka would probably ask him later to borrow the book since they both looked up to the swordsman. Maybe they could relax on the couch and read it together later.

It was a few minutes of reading the first few paragraphs of his new book before Zuko realized that Sokka hadn't read off the rest of his list, and when he raised his head to see what the problem was he found Sokka staring at him strangely. However, before he could ask what was wrong, Sokka said, "Something to do together."

Zuko perked up and rummaged through his bag to pull out a specialized cookbook for meaty dishes. While he and Sokka could cook, they were both aware that they could use more practice. He was sure that Sokka would appreciate the recipes in it. Zuko placed the book onto the middle of the table to let Sokka look, but he didn't even give the cover a glance before he deftly placed a black velvet box on top of the book. It took a minute to process what Zuko was looking at, but when he did he felt his heart stop.

Within the cushion of the box a ring was nestled into the folds of the cloth. The band was wide, and starting from one edge, tiny diamonds rose like a wave and curved over the golden band until it met the opposite edge. Zuko barely noticed Sokka stand up, but his eyes tracked the ring as it was picked up then presented to him as Sokka got down on one knee.

“I think it would be a good activity to do together." Sokka chuckled nervously, gesturing with the box. Then his face turned serious, and Zuko could do nothing but stare into deep blue eyes, helpless to Sokka's gaze.

"Zuko. I love you. I love you more than I can ever hope to convince you." Sokka said, propping the ring on Zuko's knee. "But hopefully this will get me close. I want to spend the rest of my days with you, Zuko. I want to wake up everyday with you by my side, overheating the blankets with your ridiculous body heat and making us both sweaty."

At that, Zuko couldn't help but laugh wetly, but Sokka simply smiled and went on. "I want to spend everyday with you arguing over what to eat for lunch and watching your boring K-drama reruns so often that when I look at you it's in slow motion, surrounded by sparkles."

Zuko’s laughter was slowly turning into heaving sobs and he tucked his chin to his chest in an attempt to hide his face as his vision blurred with his tears. This was so overwhelming.

Sokka was- He wanted- With  _ him _ . He didn't know what to do with himself. Sokka placed the ring onto the table and took hold of Zuko's trembling hands into his own to hold them firmly to his chest.

"I want my days to end with you next to me." Sokka whispered, his forehead gently pressed to Zuko's, "I want to stay up late to wait for you to come home from work so that I can feel the satisfaction of you falling into my arms when you're too tired to make it to bed by yourself. I want to fight over the blankets and pillows. Hold you close when you have nightmares. I want to take care of you and I want you to take care of me."

Sokka cupped his face slowly, softly. His palms were warm on his cheeks as Sokka tilted his chin up, both their faces wet with never ending tears.

"Zuko. Will you marry me?"

Zuko choked on a gasping breath and nodded as hard as he could in Sokka's hands. His face, his heart, his soul. Sokka held it all in his steady hands while Zuko floundered with himself.

He wound his arms around Sokka's shoulders, and brought Sokka into a desperate kiss. He was basically breathing into Sokka's mouth with how hard he was crying, but he never stopped moving his lips against Sokka's. Sokka shifted his hands into Zuko's hair to press their mouths harder together as if he was trying to push all of Zuko's nerves out of his body.

"Please," Sokka pleaded, choked by tears as he held Zuko close, "Please say it for me, baby, I have to hear you say it."

Zuko gasped and choked, trying to calm his breathing so that he could do what Sokka asked. Warm hands were brought back to his cheeks, the soft pads of Sokka's thumbs gliding under Zuko's eyes to catch a few of his tears.

Sokka waited patiently as Zuko brought his crying to hiccupping gasps. He had to get a hold on himself. Sokka was waiting for him. He had to  _ answer him _ .

It took a few minutes, but once he was focused, Zuko brought his eyes to meet Sokka's shimmering gaze. He leaned in to give him a soft, chaste kiss, before rasping out a soft but passionate, " _ Yes _ ."   
Sokka stared at him, a grin slowly splitting his face into pure, unadulterated joy.

“Yes.” He repeated, his breathing picking up in unrestrained excitement.

Zuko could feel his cheeks starting to ache from the smile now growing on his own face, and he gripped Sokka’s collar as he nearly screamed, “Yes!”

Their neighbors were probably going to file a complaint later with how loud they were both yelling and laughing. But Zuko couldn’t find it in himself to care as he yelped when Sokka lifted him from his chair by the hips to start spinning him around the room with child-like glee.

When Zuko was younger, he had never even  _ dreamed _ his future would be anything like this. At thirteen, he didn't know if he would live long enough to see his next birthday; his mother no longer there to protect him and his father far more cruel in her absence.

At sixteen, he resigned himself to a life of loneliness and anger under his father's thumb. His father was too powerful to fight, and Uncle could only do so much. At the very least, his future was secured.

At twenty, Zuko discovered true friendship in the company of Aang and his friends. They saw his pain, but instead of exploiting his weaknesses, they offered him comfort instead. It threw him off for days, their doting too good to be true. He lived for months in fear that it would be ripped away from him, like all good things were to do.

At twenty-one, he did almost lose them.

At twenty-one, Sokka brought him back from the deep end.

At twenty-two, Sokka kissed him in the rain during a midnight walk.

At twenty-three, Sokka told him he loved him for the first time.

At twenty-four, Sokka moved in with him.

At twenty-five, Sokka held him together when he learned about his long lost mother.

He never left. He stayed with him at his worst. It was always Sokka. His beloved, his other half, his sun, moon, and stars that guided him from his dark, heavy past.

Sokka, Sokka,  _ Sokka _ .

And now he would have Sokka for forever. His thirties, forties, fifties, on and on and on, forever and ever.

_ Sokka _ .

Zuko could still feel himself crying as he held Sokka close, their breath intermingling as they calmed down from their emotional high.

Zuko tilted his head up the same time Sokka did, gold staring into blue. And slowly, ever so slowly, they leaned in together for a kiss that would stay seared into Zuko's memory for years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> ships proposing at the same time is great and all but what about the gut wrenching feeling of the self conscious one being totally and completely blind sided at the prospect of their loved one declaring their undying love to them in which they basically show the self conscious one that they are serious in their loyalty and love in the act of a surprising proposal.
> 
> just me?  
> probably just me.


End file.
